Mao’s Last RevolutionThe Cultural Revolution was a watershed event in the history of the People’s Republic of China, the defining decade of half a century of communist rule. Before 1966, China was a typical communist state, with a command economy and a powerful party able to keep the population under control. But during the Cultural Revolution, in a move unprecedented in any communist country, Mao unleashed the Red Guards against the party. Tens of thousands of officials were humiliated, tortured, and even killed. Order had to be restored by the military, whose methods were often equally brutal. |
Contents
Introduction | 1 |
The First Salvos | 14 |
The Siege of Beijing | 32 |
Confusion on Campuses | 52 |
The Fifty Days | 66 |
Maos New Successor | 86 |
The Red Guards | 102 |
Red Terror | 117 |
The Congress of Victors | 285 |
War Scares | 308 |
The Defection and Death of Lin Biao | 324 |
Mao Becalmed | 337 |
Zhou under Pressure | 358 |
Deng Xiaoping Takes Over | 379 |
The Gang of Four Emerges | 396 |
The Tiananmen Incident of 1976 | 413 |
Confusion Nationwide | 132 |
Shanghais January Storm | 155 |
Seizing Power | 170 |
The Last Stand of the Old Guard | 184 |
The Wuhan Incident | 199 |
The May 16 Conspiracy | 221 |
The End of the Red Guards | 239 |
Cleansing the Class Ranks | 253 |
Dispatching Liu Shaoqi | 273 |
The Last Days of Chairman Mao | 431 |
Conclusion | 450 |
Glossary of Names and Identities | 465 |
A Note on Sources | 479 |
Notes | 483 |
611 | |
Illustration Credits | 659 |
661 | |